boehner and the president were close to a deal last year. the so called grand bargain, $4 trillion in debt reduction including politically sensitive changes to social security and medicare. many think that blueprint still works. >> and the real problem is uncontrolled entitlement spending and the government that has grown massively, not just under this administration, under republican administration. >> reporter: experts warn of serious damage to the economy if the standoff drags on. >> if three or four weeks from now they're making no progress at all, you're going to see the anxiety and the nervousness growing both in the markets and in corporate boardrooms. it's going to be a rough two months for the u.s. economy. >>> two weeks after the destruction from hurricane sandy, victims are still trying to put their lives back together. more than 100,000 homes and businesses in new york and new jersey are without electricity as they struggle to rebuild. a 77-year-old man has died of injuries from a fall as sandy hit new york, bringing the city's d